William T. Tukuafu (born January 3, 1984) is an American football coach and former fullback. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent originally in 2010.[1] He also played for the San Francisco 49ers.[2]
 Tukuafu with the San Francisco 49ers | |||||||||||||
| Los Angeles Chargers | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Assistant defensive line coach | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | January 3, 1984 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 280 lb (127 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Salt Lake City (UT) East | ||||||||||||
| College: | Oregon | ||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2010 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| As a coach: | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Tukuafu was born in Salt Lake City, Utah.[1] He graduated from East High School, attended Scottsdale Community College in Scottsdale, Arizona, then transferred to the University of Oregon.[1]
College career
editTukuafu played in 39 games (37 starts) for the Ducks, registering 131 tackles, 32.5 tackles-for-loss, 14.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, and four passes defensed.[3] As a senior, he was named Second-team All-Pac-10 by the coaches. He also earned Oregon's Schaffeld Award and the Gonyea Award.
Professional career
editSeattle Seahawks (first stint)
editTukuafu was signed as an undrafted free agent on June 8, 2010, and was released on June 22, 2010.
San Francisco 49ers
editTukuafu was signed by the 49ers on August 12, 2010. He was released on September 3, 2010, and was re-signed to the practice squad two days later. He was promoted to the 49ers' active roster on December 18, 2010. He made NFL debut and recorded his first career fumble recovery on his first career play from scrimmage vs. Seattle on September 11, 2011. During his tenure in San Francisco, he saw action in 20 games from 2010 to 2013 and additionally six career playoff appearances with two starts. His versatility has allowed him to play fullback, defensive line, and on special teams.
At the end of the 2012 season, Tukuafu and the 49ers appeared in Super Bowl XLVII. He appeared in the game on offense, defense, and special teams, but the 49ers fell to the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 34–31.[4]
Seattle Seahawks (second stint)
editTukuafu was signed by the Seahawks on October 29, 2014. He was released on September 3, 2016, and re-signed again on September 13 only to be released again the following week. On October 26, 2016, he was re-signed by the Seahawks.[5] He was placed on injured reserve on December 13, 2016, after suffering a concussion in Week 13.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c Will Tukuafu – GoDucks.com – The University of Oregon Official Athletics Web Site. GoDucks.com (January 3, 1984). Retrieved on 2011-03-10.
- ^ Former Oregon defensive lineman Will Tukuafu signs with the San Francisco 49ers | OregonLive.com. Blog.oregonlive.com. Retrieved on March 10, 2011.
- ^ "Will Tukuafu College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
- ^ "Super Bowl XLVII - San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens - February 3rd, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
- ^ Boyle, John (October 26, 2016). "Seahawks Re-Sign Fullback Will Tukuafu, Release Running Back C.J. Spiller". Seahawks.com.
- ^ Drovetto, Tony (December 13, 2016). "Seahawks Sign RB Kelvin Taylor, LB Ronald Powell; Place RB Troymaine Pope, FB Will Tukuafu On Injured Reserve". Seahawks.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017.